Safety mug for liquids which permits the liquid to retain its temperature while it is in the mug and further retain the liquid if the mug is tipped

Abstract

The present invention relates to a container for liquid which is able to retain the liquid therein for drinking purposes at a temperature close to its original temperature for a period of time, will assure that the liquid will not spill out if the container is tipped, and facilitates easy drinking of the liquid from the container. The container further includes an interiorly recessed shelf possessing at least one gap within the shelf wall and which accommodates a sealing member or top which contains a protruding tongue which can be inserted through the gap and rotated below the shelf to fasten the sealing member in place. Then the top can function as a sealing member to retain the liquid in place and assure that the liquid will not spill if the container is accidentally tipped. The top will further serve to entirely seal the container to thereby retain the liquid therein at close to its original temperature for a period of time.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A mug comprising: a. a body member;   b. said body member comprising a side wall, a handle attached thereto, and a hollow chamber therein bounded by an internal side wall;   c. a recessed shelf located in said internal side wall of said body member;   d. said shelf located at a fixed distance below the top of said mug and circumscribing most of the circumference of said internal side wall and being divided by a transverse gap;   e. a lid member;   f. said lid member comprising a bottom surface, a transverse side wall, and a top surface extending radially outward from the transverse side wall;   g. a key protruding radially outward from said transverse side wall and adjacent said bottom surface of said lid member;   h. a gap located in the circumference of said top surface of said lid and extending radially inwardly to a distance adjacent said transverse side wall;   i. a seal circumscribing said transverse side wall and located directly beneath said top surface of said lid and comprising a gap in its circumference aligned with the gap in said top surface of said lid;   j. a centrally disposed recessed chamber within said lid;   k. a transverse lid handle within said centrally disposed recessed chamber; and   l. said lid being inserted into said body member of said mug by aligning said key with said gap in said shelf and placing said lid such that said seal rests on the top surface of said shelf and rotating said lid such that said key rests directly below the lower surface of said shelf;   m. whereby, the lower portion of said internal chamber beneath said shelf is entirely sealed when the gap in said lid is not aligned with a gap in said shelf and the contents in the lower chamber may be removed while the lid is in place when the gap in said lid is aligned with the gap in said shelf.   
     
     
       2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said transverse side wall of said lid contains a groove aligned with said gap in said top surface. 
     
     
       3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said mug is a container for liquids. 
     
     
       4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said side wall of said mug contains a recessed area aligned with the recessed shelf in the internal side wall. 
     
     
       5. A mug comprising: a. a body member;   b. said body member comprising a side wall, a handle attached thereto, and a hollow chamber therein bounded by an internal side wall;   c. a recessed shelf located in said internal side wall of said body member;   d. said shelf located at a fixed distance below the top of said mug and circumscribing most of the circumference of said internal side wall and being divided by a multiplicity of transverse gaps and spaced located around the shelf;   e. a lid member;   f. said lid member comprising a bottom surface, a transverse side wall, and a top surface extending radially outward from the transverse side wall;   g. a multiplicity of keys protruding radially outward from said transverse side wall, adjacent said bottom surface of said lid member, and in spaced locations around the circumference of said lid and separated by the same distances as the gaps in said shelf so that each key can be aligned with a corresponding gap in said shelf;   h. a multiplicity of gaps located in the circumference of said top surface of said lid, each gap extending radially inwardly to a distance adjacent said transverse side wall, each gap being offset from each key but located in spaced locations around said top surface at distances equal to the distances between said gaps in said shelf so that each gap is said lid can be aligned with a corresponding gap in said shelf;   i. a seal circumscribing said transverse side wall and located directly beneath said top surface of said lid and comprising a multiplicity of gaps in its circumference aligned with each gap in the seal aligned with a corresponding gap in said top surface of said lid;   j. a centrally disposed recessed chamber within said lid;   k. a transverse lid handle within said centrally disposed recessed chamber; and   l. said lid being inserted into said body member of said mug by aligning each key with a corresponding gap in said shelf and placing said lid such that said seal rests on the top surface of said shelf and rotating said lid such that each key rests directly below the lower surface of said shelf;   m. whereby, the lower portion of said internal chamber beneath said shelf is entirely sealed when the gaps in said lid are not aligned with a gap in said shelf and the contents in the lower chamber may be removed while the lid is in place when the gaps in said lid are aligned with the gaps in said shelf.   
     
     
       6. The invention as defined in claim 5 wherein said shelf contains a pair of oppositely disposed gaps, said lid contains a pair of oppositely disposed keys, and the top surface of said lid containts a pair of oppositely disposed gaps. 
     
     
       7. The invention as defined in claim 6 wherein each of said keys is offset from each of said gaps in the lid by approximately ninety degrees. 
     
     
       8. The invention as defined in claim 5 wherein said transverse side wall of said lid contains a multiplicity of grooves with each groove being aligned with a respective gap in said lid. 
     
     
       9. The invention as defined in claim 5 wherein said mug is a container for liquids. 
     
     
       10. The invention as defined in claim 5 wherein said side wall of said mug contains a recessed area aligned with the recessed shelf in the internal side wall.